Victor Becker - Civil War 2nd Ohio Cavalry and Kentucky 7th

My Ryan cousins grew up with this sword mounted and displayed in their family room.  However, when my cousin, Mike Ryan, brought it to my attention, I had no idea who "Uncle Vic" was.  It wasn't until I systematically started comparing the names of my ancestors to rosters of Civil War soldiers serving in Ohio units that I discovered just how many of my ancestors had served.

Another thing I discovered was that the decision to serve was often a "family" decision.  As discussed earlier, two Darby brothers and their brother-in-law served.  My gg-grandfather, Charles Gross served as did his brother-in-law, "Vic." Victor was part of the Becker family that immigrated from Sarraltroff, Lorraine (Moselle), France in 1858. 

The 1860 Cincinnati City Directory lists Victor as working as a "harness maker" at 102 Main Street.  He was 18 years old.  His obvious familiarity with horses probably led to his decision to join a Cavalry unit.  He served in both Kentucky and Ohio units.  I will need to do more research before I can say with certainty what battles he participated in.  Here is a copy of his listing in the roster of Ohio Civil War veterans.  It should be noted that at times the family used the "Anglo" version of the Becker name (Baker), however, Victor began and ended his life using Becker as his surname.

Mike Ryan and Tim Jones
at Civil War Museum

According to Victor's Civil War Pension application, he was elevated to the rank of "Sergeant" and was honorably discharged with the rest of his unit at the end of the war in Nashville, Tennessee.  Here is a link to the Wikipedia page describing the unit's participation in the Civil War. 

Victor never married.  He was part of the "family" that worked together to support his sister, Rose and her children, following the death of Rose's husband, Charles. Although it appears that Victor worked at one point in the family's Stamping and Embroidery business, later census documents list Victoras a "harness maker"  once again."

Victor is one of the many Beckers and Ryans buried in St. John Cemetery in St. Bernard in an unmarked grave.  He died at the age of 85 on February 5, 1927.  At the time of his death, he was living in Mt. Adams on Carney Street and was buried from the Church of the Immaculata.

My Immigrant Beckers from "France"

My gg-grandparents are Nicholas Becker and Anna Marie Butro from France.  One of the things I love about writing this blog is that it makes me review the research I have in hand and search to see if their are "new" items that may have been added since the last time I researched these ancestors.  This time, once again, I hit "pay dirt." 

I knew that my Becker immigrants had come from Lorraine, France.  I also "proved" for the Hamilton County Genealogical Society that this set of ancestors was living in Cincinnati before 1860.  This enabled me to submit their names and documentation for inclusion in the "Settlers and Builders" Lineage Group.  However, in preparation for this post, I found a few "new" facts that I did not know when I was submitting my original application.

I had not attempted to find out where the Beckers were buried.  I should not have been surprised that I found them in St. John's Cemetery in St. Bernard, Ohio.  Numerous other relatives from this family and the Irish family they married into are buried in that cemetery.  Unfortunately, all of them are in unmarked graves.

Last week I visited the cemetery office located at St. Mary's Cemetery and was able to get a map showing the general location of their graves.  In addition, they provided me with a list of names of the six people who are buried in the plot.  The office told me to look for the grave marker for Joseph Hauscher and his wife, Augusta, who were buried in marked graves in the same plot.  I took a picture to use as a reference point and discovered that the marker for Augusta was no longer there (for whatever reason).

I have no idea who the Hauschels are.  The "M" designates that the grave has a marker (as pictured above).  Anna and Nicolaus Becker are buried there, along with two young grandchildren of their daughter, Rose, and her husband, Charles Gross.  I have at least 13 relatives buried in this cemetery and none of their graves are marked.  I think it speaks to their level of poverty at that time.  I wonder how many of my readers have relatives buried in unmarked graves.

Thanks to the Civil War service of one of the Becker sons, Victor, I know that the family emmigrated from a small town in France called Sarraltroff, (Lorraine) Moselle, France.  The father, Nicholas, listed his occupation as "farmer." (I've since learned, however, that everyone was listed as a "farmer" unless they were traveling in a higher class).  A google search of the town shows that even today the population is less than 800. You can view copyrighted pictures of Sarraltroff by clicking on this link.

Rosina (Rose) Becker Gross

In a previous post, I discussed what I new about my immigrant gg-grandmother, Rose.  Rose, although ethnically German, immigrated with her family from Lorraine, France.  The 1900 Census lists their immigration year as 1860, although the 1920 Census states that the family arrived in 1855.  I believe the latter is the correct date as I was able to locate an immigration record on the Ship William Tell that arrived in New York in 1855.  There are a few discrepancies, but most of what I know is supported by these records.



What is beyond dispute, however, is that Rose was a widow with four children by 1879.  The surviving children were:  Rose -age 15, Julius - age 14, Julia - age 12, and Eliza (Alice) - age 6.  The 1880 Census lists Rose and her four children living in the same residence as her older sister, Catherine, and younger brothers, Victor and Nicolas.  They were living at 288 W. 6th St. in downtown Cincinnati.  All but the three youngest children were listed as working in a "Stamping and Embroidery" business, apparently owned by the family.  Young Rose was also working in the store, but her brother, Julius is listed as working in a candy store.

For the times, I can imagine that the children were very fortunate.  They were raised in a home with four adults including two men who could serve as father figures.  Frequent occupations for women at the time included being a seamstress, milliner, embroiderer or similar.  Sure beats taking in laundry!

The women in my family were quite good at this.  We have a few remaining pieces of their work.  The one at the left in incomplete.  The one to the right was embroidered by the younger Rose.  It was a hat liner for her husband, James Hugh Ryan.  I'm told that Rose also embroidered beautiful flowers on her wedding dress.  It was obviously a labor of love for these women.

As far as I know, three of Rose's siblings (Catherine, Victor and Alice)never married. Victor, who was a Civil War Veteran of a cavalry unit, was listed as a "harness maker" in the 1900 Census. All are buried in St. John's Cemetery in St. Bernard, Ohio -- all in unmarked graves.



Final note: The 1900 Census lists Rose Gross living with three of her children at 851 Findlay Ave. Her siblings, Victor, Katharine and Alice are living a few doors away at 838 Findlay. By then Rose was receiving a Civil War Pension based on her husband, Charles', service in the military. By 1900, the family was using "Baker" for their surname, the "Americanized" version of Becker. It's interesting to note that by 1910, they reverted back to Becker.

Source Citation for Passenger List

My Family in the Civil War

Civil War Canon - James A. Ramage Civil War Museum

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The Civil War or the War of the Rebellion began 150 years ago on April 11th, 1861 with the Battle at Ft. Sumter.  When it was over, there were approximately 620,000 casualties from death and disease.

I had always known that I had a gg-grandfather, Britton Wainright, who died of heat stroke when he was marching to meet John Hunt Morgan of Morgan's Raiders fame. I was able to get extensive documentation of the impact his death had on his family. You can read about him in this previous post.

What I didn't realize at the time was that I actually had four direct ancestors and two siblings of ancestors who served in the war -- all on the Union side. It also seemed to be a family affair. In the case of Britton Wainright, two brother-in-laws also served: Joseph Bickerdyke Darby and Robert Willis Darby. Britton's wife was Mary Elizabeth Darby. These three family members are from my paternal side.

On my maternal side, there were three additional soldiers: my gg-grandfather Charles C. Gross, his brother-in-law, Victor Becker, and Fred Wocher (from a separate branch). Fred Wocher and Victor Becker interest me because Fred lived in Covington, Kentucky and Victor, at one point, served in a Kentucky Cavalry unit. Despite Kentucky's official neutrality in the war, people owned slaves in northern Kentucky and the state was quite divided in its allegiance.

My plan is to post what I know about each of these ancestors over the next couple of weeks.  Their experiences range from no actual fighting to death (in the case of Britton).  Those who fought descend from ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, newly-arrived immigrants from Germany, and one who was born in the United States of immigrants from England.  At least in two of the cases they signed up when Cincinnati was under threat.  In sharing their stories, I hope to honor these men who stepped up to the plate in a war that still impacts our country 150 years later.